This invention generally relates to gaming machines, although it can conceivably have broader application to games in general, and more particularly to a novel bonus game for gaming machines.
Slot machines, poker machines, blackjack machines and similar gaming machines are abundant. Some, such as slot machines, may be mechanical devices without any video component. Machines to play card games, as well as slot machines, are more and more based upon a video monitor as the display mechanism for the game, with the game itself governed by a microprocessor-based system.
The popularity of the games, and these gaming machines, derive from a number of factors, some of which are the apparent likelihood of winning (typically money in a wagering environment), the attractiveness of the game machine, and the basic level of entertainment provided by the game/machine. It is therefore one general driving force in the gaming industry to come up with new and exciting games and gaming machines which will attract players, entertain them, and promote repeated play.
One way that has been tried to accomplish the foregoing has been to enhance the play of a base game, where the base game may be a relatively standard-type game already established in the industry, with a bonus game. Such a bonus game can be one which is similar to the underlying game being played, or can be completely unrelated to the base game in the sense of being a game different from that being played as the base game. For instance, the bonus round could be a separate wheel which is spun in the course of play of a slots game when triggered by some event in the slots game.
In general, the bonus game will ordinarily have some increased value associated with its play, and/or a statistically higher probability of success, just to name two ways in which a heightened player appeal may be generated. A bonus game along some of the foregoing lines previously developed by the inventor hereof is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,098.
It is accordingly a principal objective of the present invention to provide a new game in the form of a bonus game, which in a presently preferred form is particularly adapted as a bonus game for a gaming machine. In this environment, it could be applied to a spinning reel slot machine, or a video slot machine, a video card-game machine, or any other game of chance, for that matter. Again, although the invention will be primarily described hereafter as a bonus game associated with a video gaming machine, it could readily be adapted for a live casino game at a gaming table, for instance, where the bonus game could be displayed on a video monitor as an adjunct to the gaming table.
In accordance with the foregoing principal objective, the invention takes the form in one aspect as a method of playing a bonus game associated with a gaming machine operated by a processor. The gaming machine has a base game, which can be of any known (or hitherto unknown) type.
The bonus game has a plurality of different items to be selected by a player, each item having a value in a first amount preset for a given bonus round. In a preferred embodiment, each item has a respective initial quantity ranging from one to a second amount preset for the bonus round. The bonus round is selected for operation (play) if a predetermined event occurs in the base game.
The bonus round is set up for play with the items displayed for player selection. One contemplated embodiment uses the format of a store with products to be selected by the player and placed in a depiction of a shopping cart. In this embodiment, quantity values for the items are not initially revealed to the player.
A player interface mechanism (e.g., touchscreen, mouse, keypad etc.) is provided through which the player can select a desired item. The player makes a first selection of an item through operation of the interface mechanism, and there is a registration of the value for the item of that first selection, as well as a subtraction of a unit from the quantity for that item.
The player makes another selection of an item unless the first item quantity is zero after the first selection, in which event the bonus round is over. If the quantity is not zero, however, the second selection is registered as to its value, and subtraction of a unit from the quantity for that item then occurs. This sequence continues until an item is selected having a zero quantity after subtracting a unit from the quantity for that item.
The invention has likewise found application as a gaming machine, which includes a processor having a program for operating and controlling play of a base game, and for operating and controlling play in a bonus game. Here again, the bonus game has a plurality of different items to be selected by a player, each item having a value in a first amount preset for a given bonus round, and a respective initial quantity ranging from one to a second amount preset for the bonus round. A variation of the invention also contemplates having an initial zero quantity, but this is not considered most desirable in a bonus format.
A display driven by the processor shows the items for player selection. A player interface mechanism communicating with the processor provides commands from the player for selection of a desired item. As with the method described above, the player makes a first selection of an item through operation of the interface mechanism, with a registration mechanism registering the value for that item, and subtracting a unit from the quantity for that item. Play of the bonus round continues with the player making another selection of an item unless the first item quantity is zero after the first selection, in which event the bonus round is terminated by the program. Otherwise, play of the bonus round and this gaming machine continues until a zero quantity occurs.
The operation of the bonus round can occur in the course of play of the base game immediately upon a predetermined event occurring. The base game is returned to upon conclusion of the bonus round. In a preferred form of the invention, the value for a selected item is displayed only after its initial selection.
The features, advantages and accomplishments of the invention will be further appreciated and understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: